Chapter 9:: You Can't Take My Daughter

Hermione looked into the mirror feeling overly nervous. Her reflection showed, not the confident, caring Alyssa, but rather the shaky bookworm she once was. She suddenly felt like she were eleven again, back when the mere thought of Angry Draco made her heart stop cold with fear. By the time she had reached thirteen, he no longer scared her; so to see herself now, terrified of how he's going to act, she was angry with herself.

Draco's temper was legendary. Even now, people would comment on how he ruined this person or destroyed that person. He was fearless now. He had no reason to fear anyone. With him having the upper hand, she had no choice but to comply with whatever his demands were. What would he ask of her? How far would he take this? The more she thought about it, the more she felt like this was blackmail; like she was getting the short of the stick.

She had talked with Ginny about this last night, and Ginny was quick to point out Hermione's fault in the ordeal. "Draco missed out on five years of his daughter's life. In his mind, and I fully agree, he got the short end of the stick." Sure, it was Hermione's fault; but did Ginny really have to be so blunt?

Hermione sighed, making sure her hair was managed and her denim skirt straight. She had originally been a little concerned about wearing a mid-thigh skirt, but she blew it off. She was at least going to look good; it would let Draco know she was doing fine on her own. She double checked her makeup then brushed the remaining dryer lent from her silk, purple halter-top. When she decided she looked decent, she walked into the living room to do cover some last minute details with Ginny.

"Remember, I'm placing his address here. If I'm not back in two hours, come for me." Hermione put the address on the refrigerator door. Ginny merely waved her hand dismissively in a "yeah-yeah" motion. Clearly she wasn't going to pay too much attention. "Okay then, guess I'll be going now."

"Hey, Mione?" Ginny looked up from a magazine that had been occupying her attention, stopping Hermione from leaving. Hermione just turned and looked, raising an attentive eyebrow. "What do you think about me possibly finding out Morgan's father?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, I mean… It won't mean much now; you know, now that Harry's gone and Blaise never cared. But, you know, so I know."

"Well, what would you do after finding out?"

"I don't know. I guess you could say it's just for peace of mind." Ginny shrugged, her big amber eyes glossing with the shine of the light.

"Well, if you want to know, I say just do it. It couldn't hurt. And at least then, when Morgan asks, you have an answer you can give him. That day won't be too far away you know." Hermione gave her friend a sympathetic smile. Ginny looked over at her napping son, stroking his nappy black hair. Hermione said her quick bye and strapped her purple sandals to her feet. She sighed and stepped into the floo, an icy coldness overcoming her stomach as she yelled his address.


She stepped out of the floo to find a house elf waiting for her. The house elf gave a deep, awkward curtsey. Hermione noted that this house elf was wearing a pink dress strapped sundress, and a necklace. The necklace was odd to Hermione, just a standard chain that a muggle would use to tie a dog up outside, with a small, light pad lock as the charm and clasp. The padlock was also odd to her. It had no key hole, no combination, just the Malfoy crest engraved on the lock.

"Hello, Miss. Tingle is to show Young Miss to the young master's study. Please follow Tingle, Miss." Tingle turned, leading the way towards the door.

"Tingle?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"Why is it you're wearing the lock on your neck?"

"Why, this is Tingle's owner's crest. If the young master frees Tingle, Tingle's necklace will break." Hermione inwardly grimaced. She had given up on her S.P.E.W. motion, but she sure hated when creatures said they were owned. "Is Young Miss feeling okay?"

"I'm okay, Tingle. Say, are you happy being here with the Malfoys?"

"There are no other Malfoys. Young Master is the only Malfoy left. But the young master is very kind to Tingle. Master is also very kind to Tingle's brother, Jingle. Tingle and Jingle is the only house elves left. Master pays kindly, though Tingle and Jingle are not needing Master's money. Master feeds us and clothes Tingle and Jingle too. Master says Master doesn't like Master's house elves wearing sacks. Master changed house elf law so that house elves may have clothes."

"Malfoy did?" Hermione was surprised that his parents weren't around, but she was extremely shocked to hear he was promoting the welfare of

"Yes, Miss." Tingle was leading her through a serious of halls and wings; Hermione wasn't sure if she could find her way back. "Master says an old acquaintance of Master was spreading the idea that house elves is not just slaves. Tingle thinks Master's acquaintance is silly. Tingle thinks house elves live for house elves' masters. House elves is not happy without a Master to wait on." Tingle said this matter-of-factly, turning a corner. "The young master said Master would never do away with Tingle or Jingle. That Master appreciates Tingle and Jingle's hard work. Master treats Tingle and Jingle very good."

Tingle turned down a hall to their left and stopped in front of two large, heavy oak doors. Tingle knocked twice and received a distant "Yes?"

"Master's Miss is here. Tingle brought Young Miss here as Master asked."

"Thank you, Tingle." Draco said answering the door. He stepped aside to allow Hermione in then closed the door, effectively closing the small elf out of the room. Hermione noticed the room's décor, surprised in the color arrangement. The plush beige carpet called to her feet, making her wish she could remove her shoes and relish the feel of it against her bare feet. The deep mahogany wood of the furniture in the room looked rich and well polished. The deep, brown-stained, wood wall paneling gave the room a classy feel. Hermione noted that it was eerily clean and organized.

"Any day you're ready to talk, you're welcome to sit here." Hermione just noticed that Draco had already crossed the large room and was sitting at his desk, reading glasses perched classily on the bridge of his nose. He was looking over some papers and hadn't even looked over them as he spoke.

"Fine. It's been a while, Malfoy." She said it politely as she slid into one of the plush chairs in front of his desk.

"It has." He placed the papers aside on his desk, taking his glasses off and ran a hand through his hair tiredly, ruffling it slightly and giving it that neat and messy look that he naturally possessed. The actions themselves were miniscule, ordinary, and even rather dull; but when Draco, who exuded an aura of effortless perfection, performed these actions, Hermione felt her stomach do flip flops.

He seemed to be waiting on her; he was staring at her expectantly. "I… I don't know where to start I guess." Hermione felt the heat rush to her face. Draco leaned back in his seat, a quiet "hmmm…" escaping his lips.

"How about you start with why you left?" He raised an eyebrow to her.

"To let you and Professor Valentine off. So you two didn't have to worry about being fathers for my mistake." Hermione looked down at her hands, ashamed.

Draco raised his eyebrows in shock, leaning himself forward to prop his arms on his desk. That was rather open of her. "You know, you really have no right to decide what we should do; especially when we had a part in creating said mistakes. Which by the way, you shouldn't regard your daughters as a mistake."

"I don't. But the actions that brought them to me were."

"I see… so it's good to know that you view our relationship as a mistake. Valentine I can understand; but I thought you had more regard for us. Or was it just a mistake you couldn't stop making?" He sat back again, his tone condescending and insulting.

"Don't patronize me, Draco Malfoy." Hermione snapped angrily.

"Listen, Hermione. I told you many times I was okay with this, even before I knew the paternal results. You didn't have to do this alone. You chose to. Don't come in here insinuating your struggles are my fault. Do you even care what your selfishness has done?" Draco's tone was rising, he wasn't at a yelling volume, but his voice was loud and harsh enough to really get her guilt gears rolling. "It may not have affected them much when they weren't around others; but I'm sure by now they've realized they don't have a father."

"Actually, Sky only just now started asking about her father. I have a feeling you had something to do with her suddenly asking. Thanks to you, she spent the good portion of a morning crying, thinking she was a bad child and that her dad thought she was horrible and he didn't love her. You got those wheels turning in her little head. Sky is sensitive, she was really hurt."

"Well, Hermione, I can assure you that had you allowed me to be in her life, she wouldn't have ever felt unloved. I'm sorry, but I can't feel at fault when I did everything in my power—even lowering myself to near stalking—to find you, to be a part of her life. And damn it, I can assure you that she will not sit here and think her father doesn't love her."

"You can't sit there and tell me you love her when you haven't even met her." Hermione's voice was meek, her eyes averted to the carpet in front of her toes. Draco almost didn't hear her; almost.

"The hell I can't! You don't have to know someone to care about them. She's my daughter; regardless of whether or not I have met her, there is not a damn thing in this world I wouldn't do for her. There is not a damn thing I wouldn't do to see her smile. Just knowing I have a daughter is enough justification for me to say I love her; Austen too. Even if she is that prick's daughter, I was—and still am—willing to be a dad to both of them."

Hermione hadn't realized she was silently crying until a salty tear reached her lips. Draco seemed to ignore her tears, leaning back into his seat.

"Don't even try to tell me that you still want to be with me."

"Being with you and being their dad is two different issues, don't rope them together. I will always be willing to be there for those two girls, no matter what happens between you and me. As for being with you, I'm willing to give it a chance; that's to say, I'm willing to work with you to make us work. But if you refuse to cooperate, there's nothing much I can do. But even if that's what you choose, you have to know that I will take my daughter."

"You can't take my daughters from me!" Hermione seemed close to the brink of hysterics, her breath was ragged. "You can't be with me anyway. The receptionist told me you're dating the daycare owner."

"Going on one or two dates hardly commits me to someone. I'm not tied down to anyone, and I'm not in a relationship with her. I took her out once."

"But you do like her right? Or are you going to lie to me like you did with those poor girls in school, saying 'she means nothing to me' to get your way?"

This seemed to push Draco's patience too far. He stood and slammed his hands on his desk, closing his eyes tight and breathing deep to control his anger. The sound of the wood being smacked so violently startled Hermione, causing her head to whip up and a small squeak to escape from her lips.

"Hermione, I never once lied to you about something like this; I'm seriously insulted that you'd insinuate I would start now."

"So what is she to you? You're probably fucking her; once a manwhore, always one, right?" Why am I jealous about his affections with me? Hermione didn't understand it, but her jealous side was coming out; she was having to vent it the only way she could. Right at Draco.

"She's a really nice girl, but I definitely haven't fucked her. Hermione, I've only eaten lunch with her one time. I don't know her that well. Do I like her, sure; Do I find her attractive, hell yes. But, I'm not going to simply replace you with her. Even to this day, I still love you. But, there's a limit. I can only take so much of your indecisiveness. Did you ever think that maybe I'd want to have a family someday? I can only play your games so long, and this is it. I'm done with it, Hermione. You have some choices to make, and you'd better damn well make them soon; before it's too late." His voice was gruff, low and warning. It sent chills down her spine; and not the good kind.

Hermione was silent for a good three minutes, wiping the free falling, silent tears away. She finally decided they should discuss what he originally wanted to talk about. "Well, what do you want to do about Sky? Until we can sort us out."

"I can take her on weekends for now; once she gets used to me, until school starts, I want her every other week including that week's weekend."

"Huh?"

"As in, I take her on a Sunday, early afternoon; and she can stay with me through that Saturday night. Coming home to you that Sunday, early afternoon."

"Oh… That's a long time away from home." Hermione sounded reluctant, she didn't want to let her daughter stay away that much. She'd spent five years around her daughter; the longest time her daughter had been away was two nights.

"Well, you've kept her away from me for five years. I don't want to just throw her here for a week though. I want her to get used to me, get to know me and vice versa, etcetera. Once she adjusts, I want her every other week like I said."

"She won't have anyone to play with here. She'll be lonely in such a huge manor."

"Zander is here. Well, right now he's out with Jingle at the pond swimming."

"You let a mere child run away by themselves?"

"Relax, I always send a house elf with him."

"And you think that's any better?"

"House elves are amazingly reliable, Hermione. I was a troublemaker and I had Tingle and Jingle when I was running around. They saved my life many times. I would trust them no matter what. It's even been said that their magic can be stronger than a wizard's if their resolve is strong enough. Shall we not forget my old house elf Dobby protecting The Boy Who Wouldn't Die from my father? Lucius was going to Avada Potter's ass right back to his parents' care. Dobby knocked Lucius right off his feet. There is no more arguments, I trust my life and any child with my house elves." Draco gave her a tone that said that discussion was finished and she was not to be arguing with him. "The point is, Zander will have a playmate, and Sky will have a playmate. If you want me to take Austen as my own, I have no qualms doing so."

Hermione bowed her head in defeat. She had a lot to think over. "Draco, I don't know. I don't know what to do about Austen. This is a mess. She's showing abnormal abilities when there have been wards placed to not allow magic. She's a real handful. Even at that. If you get to be the father to your child, then I need to concede with Professor Sid. He wants visitation with Austen."

So that's why the bastard was at that daycare; to inquire about Austen. But… why would Valentine go to Alyssa to talk about the girls? Draco made a mental note to analyze this information after Hermione was gone. He could talk to Alyssa tonight. "Tell the bastard he's done enough of ruining our happy family." He stressed the word family as if he had everything planned out down to his own death.

"He's just as much a father in this as you are." Hermione countered pointedly. If he wanted to play this immature game, then she could too.

"There was a twenty-four percent margin of error! I'll adopt the child. You don't have to let him near." Draco's voice only raised a little, enough to sound harsh and commanding.

"Then I shouldn't have to let you near either!" Hermione brought herself a little louder than Draco. It was after all the laws of nature to make yourself appear larger and louder; it made you more intimidating and quite close to the dominant one.

"Why are you being so difficult?" Draco, being the Malfoy that he was, wasn't going to let anyone dethrone him from being the Alpha Male. Damn it, this was HIS house. He'd be damned if he was going to let some harpy come in and metaphorically castrate him; even if he did love the daft bird.

Hermione backed down. When she sat down, Draco seemed to relax immediately. He knew he overreacted a lot, but wasn't it normal for a guy to get defensive when being challenged? Okay, so maybe she wasn't challenging him. But hey, he was Draco Malfoy, he was well known for his temper; Hermione knew this coming into any relationship with him.

She spoke first. "Because you're demanding I share my daughter. Sid was much nicer about everything. He didn't threaten me. He didn't trash talk you. He understands your position, and he respects your paternal rights to Sky. He would never try to keep you from her. It pisses me off to see you trying to step in his way." Fresh tears were coming up in her eyes and she quickly swatted at them with the back of her hand.

"Hermione…" Draco let out a soft sigh, getting up and walking over to her. She shied away from him as he wrapped his arms around her. It surged through both of them; they could both feel the pulse of electricity flowing through their bodies. It had been all too long since he had secured her in his embrace. He took a deep, shaky breath; the scent of her freshly washed hair, a strong citrus scent from her pomegranate shampoo, enticed him. He couldn't help running his long fingers through her silky ringlets, lightly tangling them into her hair.

It felt good, it felt right. Draco pulled back slightly to see a mixture of shock, confusion, and pain on her face. He cupped her face in his hands, "Hermione, I don't want to take Austen from her dad. I don't disrespect his role as a father; I disrespect him as a human. What I'm saying, is if you want one home for your daughters, one family, one mommy and one daddy, I am still willing to give this a chance; for you and those two little girls, there is nothing I wouldn't do to see a smile on your faces." His thumbs rubbed her cheeks just under her eyes, wiping away her tears. It did nothing to help. She began sobbing; trembling and taking uneven, ragged breaths.

"Why? Why do you still want to be with me? After everything I've done? Why would you stay with someone like me?" She buried her face in her hands, braking free from his hold.

"Because they were the snowballing results from a mistake you made when you weren't thinking rationally. The girl sitting in front of me isn't the Hermione I fell in love with when I was seventeen. But, I know that my Hermione is in there, somewhere; I would do anything to see her radiant smile again. I want the real you back." His words were soft, barely audible over her choked sobs; but she heard him. She heard every word.

She raised her eyes to look at him, her soulful brown eyes full of guilt and shame. What he said rang an air of truth around her. This is no way that Hermione would handle the situation. She thought hard, but no matter what she thought up, she couldn't think of how she would act. She needed reflection. She needed her own life.

Draco knew what she was thinking. "Don't. Please, don't." Her eyes bore into his. He lowered himself to her, brushing his lips lightly over hers. His lips were still just as soft as the day she first kissed him, all those years ago. She felt his right hand come up and cup her face where jaw meets her neck, his other hand lost in her hair. She was confused, but she was content. He pulled back from her slowly, her lips mourning his absence. "Don't run away again, Hermione." His face was still close to hers, his forehead resting on hers. "I'll give you space if that's what you want. If you cooperate about Sky, I'll leave you alone; if that is what you want. Just tell me what you want."

She shook her head lightly. "I," she breathed the word, her voice weak and broken, "I don't know." He kissed away the tear that trailed down her cheek.

"Then take your time. But, Hermione, I'm going to keep seeing Alyssa until you decide. She's a sweet girl and I don't want to give up on her if you decide you don't want me." Hermione looked hurt. "She's not replacing you. She never could. But I don't want to live alone if you don't want me."

Hermione nodded. What else could she do? She could break up with Draco as Alyssa; but then she'd be hurting him. She could tell him the truth; but then he would hate her. Isn't that what I wanted? "Draco…"

"Hmm?" He looked at her questioningly.

"What if… what if Alyssa wasn't the girl you think she is?"

"That depends on what she really is. You should know I'm the last person who has any right to judge people for past actions." Her heart stung her. He was so different from his school days. He was forgiving and understanding now, and she wasn't sure she could handle her guilt. "Do you know something that I don't?" He was walking back to his side of the desk, staring her down, scrutinizing her actions. It's bad she was shit at lieing.

"I do. And I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. When Alyssa is ready to tell you." Hermione stood quietly and walked out of the room. Tingle met her outside, curtseying then leading Hermione back to the fireplace where the floo was.


A/N::

OMG! I was going to put his date with Alyssa in this chapter too, but this one is nearly 2000 words longer than my usual chapters. I'm not doing the shot outs or this update, because I'm really trying to focus on my studying. My finals are coming up next week.

Someone did ask me how many chapters I thought this would end up being. I honestly can't tell you, I have no idea myself. After I finally get Get the love triangle with Alyssa out of the way, I still have to complete Sid's part. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I would venture maybe 20-35 chapters. Yeah, that's a huge margin but that's the most I can narrow it down for now. I'm so sorry lol. We're only reaching the first hump of the metaphorical camel's back.

Anywhoo, until my next update - Enjoy